Lonestar Kashmir Football Club (also known as Lone Star or LKFC) is an Indian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

. Founded in 2013, the club previously competed in

I-League 2nd Division I-League 2, previously known as I-League 2nd Division and officially known as or Hero I-League 2 (for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp), is an Indian men's professional football league. It is the 3rd tier of Indian football, behind Indian ...

, and currently participates in

JKFA Professional League J&K Premier Football League, also known as J&K Premier Division and Srinagar Premier League, is the top state football leagues in India, state-level association football, football league in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir (union territor ...

. Lonestar first competed professionally when they were part of the

2015 I-League 2nd Division The 2015 I-League 2nd Division was the eighth season of the I-League 2nd Division, the second division of football in India. Eight clubs participated this season, including Mohammedan S.C. (Kolkata), Mohammedan, after they were relegated from the ...

. The club primarily uses TRCG Stadium as home ground.

History

Formation and journey

Lonestar Kashmir Football Club was founded in 2013 and is affiliated with the

Jammu & Kashmir Football Association The Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) is one of the 36 Indian state football associations affiliated to the All India Football Federation. Background The Jammu and Kashmir Football Association is the governing body for football in ...

(JKFA). The club participates in various state and regional tournaments. In 2013, LoneStar Group became a primary sponsor of the team, and registered it as a private company to fulfil

AIFF Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is an audio file format standard used for storing sound data for personal computers and other electronic audio devices. The format was developed by Apple Inc. in 1988 based on Electronic Arts' Interchange File ...

club licensing criteria. At the end of the 2013 season, ''LoneStar'' Group registered KFC under the

Companies Act Companies Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Botswana, Hong Kong, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom in relation to company law. The Bill for an Act with this short title ...

as per the AIFF Club licensing criteria. Popularly known as Kashmir FC, Lonestar Kashmir Football Club is a dream project of ''Iftikhar Ahmed Lone'', its founder and chairman. Gopal Pathak

The club, first of its kind in the state, has been floated to promote football amongst the talented youth of the Jammu & Kashmir. A successful businessman, having established ''Lonestar'' as a global brand of Kashmiri handicrafts and jewellery in the middle-east and many European countries, Iftikhar returned to the valley. In quest for self-actualization, once a college-level footballer had the idea to introduce a Kashmir-based club in the professional football map of the country, thus Lonestar Kashmir FC came into being. The club's biggest achievements were emerging as the runners-up of the

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, and 2015–16 season, though they didn't managed the top spot of the league and never qualified for the

I-League The I-League (known as Hero I-League for sponsorship ties with Hero MotoCorp) is the second-tier men's professional football competition of the Indian football league system. It is currently contested by 12 clubs across the country with the w ...

, one of India's top-flight football leagues.

Farukh Choudhary Farukh Haji Kasam Choudhary (born 8 November 1996) is an Indian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Jamshedpur. Career Early career and Lonestar Kashmir Encouraged by his father to take on football ...

emerged as top Indian scorer for the club with six goals in 18 matches. The 2016–17 season was not suitable for them as they bowed out from Group stages, finishing on bottom with 2 points in 9 matches. In 2017, they participated in 15th Police Martyrs Memorial Football Tournament, which was held at the

TRC Turf Ground TRC Turf Ground is an association football stadium located in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Owned by Jammu & Kashmir Football Association, It is currently the home ground of Real Kashmir and most JKFA Professional League teams. History ...

. In October 2018, they took part in another state tournament J&K Invitational Cup but could not succeed.

2020–present

Lonestar Kashmir later participated in the

during its inaugural 2020–21 season. Later they took part in the Real Kashmir Cup in 2021 and reached to the semi-finals. In May 2021, the club announced that ''Kashmir Observer'' will be their official media partner for the 2020–21 season. The following season in July 2021, Rogelio Juárez Robinson became the first

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

nian footballer to sign with Lonestar from Jamaican side

Mount Pleasant Football Academy Mount Pleasant Football Academy is a Jamaican professional football club based in the parish of Saint Ann. The club currently plays in the Red Stripe Premier League. History Formed in 2016 by Peter Gould, Mount Pleasant Football Academy, former ...

. In July 2021, the club participated in the inaugural season of

, the first professional league in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, organised by

Jammu and Kashmir Football Association The Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) is one of the 36 Indian state football associations affiliated to the All India Football Federation. Background The Jammu and Kashmir Football Association is the governing body for association ...

(JKFA) and J&K Sports Council. They finished on sixth place.

Rivalry

Lonestar Kashmir has a rivalry with their fellow Jammu & Kashmir-based club

Real Kashmir FC Real Kashmir FC is an Indian professional football club based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, Club competes in both the I-League, and J&K Premier Football League. Nicknamed ''Snow Leopards'', it is the first ever club from Jammu and Kashmir th ...

. The team has also participated in the inaugural 2020–21 Real Kashmir Cup, which was actually hosted by

at the

Stadium

Lonestar Kashmir uses the TRC Polo Synthetic Turf Ground in

for their home matches, which has a seating capacity of 11,000 spectators. Since 2015, the ground is being used in

for Lonestar, and

for Real Kashmir. It is operated by

, and was renovated in 2015. During the

2018–19 I-League 2nd Division The 2019 I-League 2nd Division (known as Hero 2018–19 I-League 2nd Division for sponsorship reasons), was the 12th season of the I-League 2nd Division, the second division Indian football league, since its establishment in 2008. The league was ...

, Lonestar briefly moved to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board sports complex in Katra, due to security reasons.

Players

Senior team squad

Managerial history

Former players

Foreign players

Lancine Touré Lancine Touré (born 21 January 1995) is an Ivorian professional footballer, who plays for Bangladesh Police FC in the Bangladesh premier League as a defender. Career Touré started his career with AS GNN of Niger Premier League. In 2015, he ...

(2017) * Alexandre Tabillon (2017–2018) *

Lhendup Dorji ''Dasho'' Lhendup Dorji (6 October 1935 – 15 April 2007) was a member of the Dorji family of Bhutan. He was also the brother of the Queen of Bhutan, Ashi Kesang choden and uncle to the fourth king of Bhutan, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck. He s ...

(2019) * Adeyemi Wahab Lasisi (2019) * Jagaba Hamza (2019–2021) * Maxwell Ellon (2019–2020) * Rogelio Juárez (2021)

Lonestar Kashmir U19

In 2014, Lonestar Kashmir launched it's U19 team to participate in the

Elite League (India) The Youth League, also known as Hero Youth League for sponsorship reasons, is a system of youth football leagues that are managed, organised and controlled by the All India Football Federation. It consists of 3 age groups competitions: U17 (E ...

. The U19 team was first participated in the league during the

2014–15 I-League U19 The 2014–15 I-League U19 is the seventh season of the Indian I-League U19 competition. The season began on 13 December 2014 and concluded on 6 May 2015. AIFF Elite Academy won the trophy for the first time. Teams Group A – Kolkata Table ...

season (group D – ''rest of India'' zone) and moved to final round.

Honours

League

**Runners-up (2): 2014–15, 2015–16 *

J&K Premier Football League J&K Premier Football League, also known as J&K Premier Division and Srinagar Premier League, is the top state-level football league in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, conducted by Jammu and Kashmir Football Association (JKFA) and J&K ...

**Runners-up (1): 2017

References

External links

* *
Lonestar Kashmir FC
at Khel Now (archived)
Lonestar Kashmir FC
at '' the-aiff.com'' (archived)
Lonestar Kashmir FC
at Soccerway {{Football in India Lonestar Kashmir FC Association football clubs established in 2013 I-League 2nd Division clubs 2013 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir Sport in Srinagar Football clubs in Jammu and Kashmir